Fargo Half Marathon

The Polish Girl did it! 13.1 mi or 21.1 km - the last one sounds better ;) Now, recovering and training for the full marathon! Well, maybe...
Here with Nick, who finished the Full Marathon. Congrats!

And one more!

Thank you for the pretty earrings, Diane!

THE shrimp boil!

You know how husband wants this to be your last degree when he throws you the best graduation/birthday party ever!

Featured favorites of the day:

• ummm... the shrimp boil!
• Jungle Juice
• interestingly shaped cactus... thanks Lacey!
• 250 jello shots
• Palak Paneer dish
  and pretty much everything
• 

Graduation!

Finally, you may say! After numerous hours of studying, crying, screaming and tearing out my hair - I am officially done with my degree number 3, and the last one this time, promise!
Since the nursing students have their very own pinning ceremony, when the dean pins a ribbon and a Maltese cross with UND logo on it, most of them usually skip the actual graduation. Here are just some of the photos from pinning!

Birthday Breakfast

The best two things to do on your birthday is to have a party (check!), and to have dessert for breakfast. Thanks to Nicole for taking me to the Dakota Harvest for some delicious baked oatmeal followed by Napoleons!

Devil May Care about the Super Saver

On Saturday we attended the first annual Derby Party at Aleks's. He went all out with the drinks and the food and even sustained some injuries when cutting lemons the night before that caused an ER visit! Now that's what I call commitment!No animals were hurt in the making of this hat. Bravo, Lacey! Coco Chanel started from hats, too!
While some drank typical Derby juleps and weird drinks with egg whites (!), I opted for a good old mojito!
Dana and Megan won the Derby bet with the Super Saver finishing 9 places ahead of my pick, Devil May Care.

What is in in? Butter!

Watching "Julie and Julia" this weekend immediately made me want to be a pro in French cooking. Not so easy!
Since the film featured the Beef Bourguignon (try pronouncing that!) I thought I would show off my super chef skills.. I found the recipe online here and begun. How hard can it be?
Oh, it can!
The instructions were very involved; it called for putting in and taking out the beef from the oven several times, at different temperatures, while cooking the vegetables. After a glass of wine I gave up, or rather made it the "Anna Way", which is putting it all in the oven and just baking it. It ended up pretty delicious, which makes me wonder; what would it be like if I only made it the correct way, hm?

The Polish Party

In the wake of recent tragic events in Poland, I decided to celebrate what Polish people stand for; kielbasa, vodka and fun! I have picked up several sausages from local meat shop L&M Meats, pickled herrings and invited all the fun people.
Plus, the first bon fire of the year!
PS. Thank you for bringing the "Polish Salsa", Sam!

Best eggs in the world

If you told me a year ago that eggs from free range chickens were different that those from the store I would call you bluff. My attitude has changed since we started getting fresh eggs from a friend. Some eggs are different in color and shape, but they all have a large, orange yolk, and I promise they taste different.
When I worked in a cafe in Traverse City, MI, I would peel hard boiled eggs for salads and was always annoyed by how difficult it was to remove the shell, as it would stick to the whites. Now I can appreciate it because I know it is a sign of the freshness. How easy are your eggs to peel?

Party Time!

Last Saturday we were invited to out friends' place for a hockey party. Since the game started at 3 or 4 pm, we decided to be fashionably late and showed up at 7pm. Perhaps a little too late... but just in time for dinner! Colin showed off his skills as he grilled chicken outside (this by the way makes the first grilling party of the year)! Lacey baked a delicious meringue,which went quite smoothly with the 33 year old bottle of port and numerous bottles of teeth-staining red wine...The meringue was so delicious and light I also attempted to make my own...

...and what I got this flat white egg omelet instead. Perhaps I should be taking cooking lessons from Lacey!

The best pizza I ever ate

What is a good pizza place, you ask? It's where they make the pizza you want, even if it's not on the menu.
Last Saturday Jacob, Jeff and I (after a long time of pondering the flavor we would like to try) ordered a half Buffalo Chicken pizza and half Blue Heaven; or blue cheese and steak. The Buffalo Chicken pizza is not on Rhombus Guys menu but the cook agreed to make it anyway. The phone call followed the feast:
Rhombus Guys person: Hello?
Jeff: I just ordered a pizza from you and I have a comment...
RG person: Uh-oh...
J: The pizza was not on the menu. It was the best thing we ever ate. (Insert applause from Jacob and myself). Can you make sure that whoever made it will write down the recipe; we will be ordering it again!
Can't wait for next time!

The weirdest pizza you've ever had

Not only did it work, it was delicious!
I fried quartered bella mushrooms in some olive oil along with my favorite spices (basil, thyme), and poured some balsamic vinegar over it. Spread it on a pizza dough and slapped some ricotta on it. Sounds pretty safe, doesn't it? But...When it came out of the oven I put a fried egg on top of it... An egg fried in balsamic vinegar. Don't judge until you try it yourself.PS This isn't my weird and tasty invention, but it is borrowed from Ask Aida on the Food Network.

Going, going, gone...

Encouraged by the most beautiful weather outside (50 degrees) I went downtown to see the Red River flooding progress and to stop by one of my favorite stores, the Amazing Grains, a natural foods grocery store. Along with some spices needed for cooking Indian food, I purchased a vegetarian German sandwich for lunch. I wanted to take a photo of it, but it was so good I ate it too fast and this is what I have to show for it now...
Amazing Grains offers SNAG, or Saturday Night at the Grains, where the chefs cook a six course meal of usually ethnic foods. Embarrassed to admit, I have never been to SNAGS... But I just made a resolution to go to at least one before the summer is over, how does that sound?
Visit amazinggrains.org to see what they have planned for lunch! Cheap, interesting and delicious sandwiches are always on the menu!

Anna's Favorites List:

• Favorite food: The vegan "egg" salad sandwich. Have not had it for a while, may have to watch the menu online in case it comes up.
• Favorite spice: Whole cloves. There isn't a better smell than that. You should know that it is used a lot in Polish compotes, or dried fruit drinks.
  
• Favorite drink: The kefir. If you don't know what it is you're missing out, go and buy one now.

Pizza kick

I am definitely in the pizza stage of my life. Going through food stages is kind of fun, except other people think you're crazy for eating the same thing every day for a month or so (for example pancakes for lunch). I probably won't be eating pizza every day, but who knows - I just learned how to make some very interesting and delicious looking pizzas...
Not even 9 am yet and I have the Food Network channel on as my "noise background" while studying for the boards. Wish me luck with that exam as I will need it - the test book was suddenly put to the side when a pizza making tutorial came on. How lucky am I! Ask Aida's Aida Mollenkamp just showed me how to make a baby bella mushroom pizza with balsamic vinegar and... a fried balsamic egg on top, yes, I said balsamic egg. I will let you know how well this one works out, as I will be sure to make it; it is just too weird to pass up!
Meanwhile, I made a salmon pizza last night. The photos don't do it justice, but you be the judge. I didn't use any pizza sauce, but instead I used olive oil mixed with fresh garlic, salt, pepper and dried basil. Toppings consisted of baked salmon, capers, red onion, tomato, red pepper, mozzarella cheese and some queso fresco.Too bad I don't have any leftovers for lunch today. Might just have to make another one!

Scrumptiously Spanky Spinakopitas

I decided not to go anywhere for my last spring break of my life, so that I can study for the boards exam late this spring. To cheer me up, Jeffrey proposed a trip to nearby Fargo for change of scenery (just kidding!), some good ethnic food, as we are unfortunately lacking it here, and some shopping. After visiting an antiques store we remembered the real purpose of our trip and made our way to the Alladin's Cafe for delicious gyros and spinach and feta filled spinakopitas, which we decided would be a great snack later that night. They did not survive the ride home...